


The Great Escape

by Eastofthemoon



Series: Raised By Lions [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Family, Friendship/Love, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 15:10:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10642416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eastofthemoon/pseuds/Eastofthemoon
Summary: Keith did not like being cold, but he hated being chased by the Galra even more.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, this fic I wrote for the Voltron Fluff Week and today's prompt was Beach Day/Snow Day.

Keith hated being cold. He could tolerate heat, darkness and even being hungry for a length of time, but he HATED being cold. Keith would admit it was probably the result of living most of his life in the desert. When he was younger, he had been mildly curious about snow, yet he still didn’t believe it was worth the sacrifice of almost freezing to death.

And the ice planet they were currently on made Keith feel like he was frozen down to his very bones. If he and Shiro hadn’t been in desperate need of supplies, he would have insisted to just keep flying past this place.

Keith sighed as he placed the last package in Red’s cargo bay and then blew warm air into his hands to warm them up. He was suddenly very glad Shiro had insisted they buy those furskin coats from the last market trip. They proved vital to Keith’s protection against the cold.

“Shiro, I got it all packed,” Keith called out.

 _Good,_ Red growled to Keith. _I’m freezing my tail off and want off this ice cube._

“In full agreement,’ Keith said as he stood and shoved his hands into his pockets. However, when no reply came, he frowned concerned. “Shiro?” he called as slowly ventured back outside Red and put his gloves on.

His boots crunched in the snow and saw nothing around him but endless hills upon hills of white snow.

“Shiro?” Keith called out as he fought the knot of worry in his stomach as he peeked around Red’s leg. “Where are-”

A snowball to the face cut him off. Keith staggered, but the sound of laughter awoke him from his daze. He made certain to scowl as he wiped the snow off his eyes and saw Shiro laughing at him as he leaned against Red.

“Really?” Keith said with a glare.

Shiro snickered as he smirked at him. “Aw, come on,” he said as he build another snowball in his hands. “There was NO WAY I was going to leave this place without throwing at least one ball of snow at you.”

Keith gave him a pout. “Oh yeah,” he said with a growl as he kneeled to gather some snow. “THEN TAKE THIS!”

With all his might, Keith tossed a snowball. It flew, whacked Shiro in the face and even caused him to fall over.

Keith laughed as he loomed over and gleefully watched Shiro spit out snow. “Still don’t have any regrets?”

Shiro said nothing as he smirked and then shrugged. “Naw,” he said as he brushed snow off his jacket and then looked to Keith with an evil glint in his eye. “Once you join me that is!”

In a quick movement, Shiro grabbed Keith’s arm and yanked him to the ground. The boy got a mouthful of snow as he fell, but then didn’t waste a second to toss a handful of the white stuff at Shiro.

Shiro laughed as he attempted to shield himself. “NOW you’re getting it!” he declared.

The two of the wrestled and rolled in the snow like a pair of snow leopard cubs. Keith surprised himself by laughing, amazed he was actually having fun in the dumb cold snow. He snuck up on Shiro and managed to tackle Shiro by wrapping his arms around his neck.

“Ha! Got you now, Shiro!” Keith cried.

Shiro grunted as he reached around. “Not for long! Once I get out-”

A heap of fluff snow cut Shiro off as it was dumped upon both of their heads. Keith rapidly brush the snow off as he glanced around.

“WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!” he cried and a growl was their answer.

Keith and Shiro looked up to see Red’s head looming over the pair of them as the last bit of snow dropped from her jaw and landed on Shiro’s face.

Shiro chuckled as he brushed it off. “Huh, I thought you said Red didn’t like snow?”

“She doesn’t,” Keith said in a shocked tone. “Normally she-”

 _Never mind my habits,_ Red growled. _We need to leave NOW! My scanners just picked up on a Galra ship heading straight towards us._

Keith instantly jumped to his feet as he gazed up at the horizon. Sure enough, he saw the shape of a Galra ship not far from them.

“Keith?” Shiro asked all laughter gone from his face. “What’s wrong?”

Keith cursed as he yanked Shiro to his feet. “Shiro, we got to go! Galra ships are coming!”

Urgency filled Shiro’s eyes as he looked to where Keith pointed and then didn’t waste a second grabbing Keith’s hand.

“Go! Go!” Shiro yelled as they raced into Red.

Shots were fired as the door slammed behind them and Keith bolted for the cockpit.  
“Hold tight!” Keith cried as Red growled and flew straight up into the air.

More shots were heard, and Red dodged quickly causing Keith’s stomach to lurch. He glanced to the scanners and saw the ship was rapidly gaining on them. A wave of panic started to wash over him.

“Maybe I should fire back?” Keith exclaimed.

“No, we’re just ahead of them,” Shiro said as he gripped Keith’s shoulder. “Just focus on flying. You’re doing fine, Buddy.”

Keith swallowed and nodded. He then focus on Red’s controls and had her fly at top speed. He dodged another round of shots as they left the atmosphere and were back in space. 

“They’re still following,” Shiro said as he pointed to the scanners.

“We got to lose them somehow,” Keith stated. “I’m open to suggestions.”

 _Cub, there’s an asteroid field up ahead,_ Red commented.

Keith grinned and thrust the engines. “Good idea, Red!” 

Shiro cleared his throat. “What’s a good idea?”

“You’ll see!” Keith said as he steered towards the field. 

Shiro gripped the seat and his eyes widened as saw the asteroid field. “Keith, please tell me you’re not-”

Too late.

Red flew straight in. Together, she and Keith dodge and weaved in and out of the asteroids just barely avoiding any of the rocks. Ketih glanced behind and saw the ship was attempting to do the same.

However, an asteroid the size of a house came into view. Keith had Red fly straight towards it. They grew closer, and closer.

“Keith,” Shiro warned as he grabbed the boy’s shoulder.

“Just a bit more,” Keith said as he watched the ship from them approach. “NOW!’

Seconds before hitting, Red sharply flew up and over the giant rock. The Galran ship proved it wasn’t as lucky as it slammed directly into it.

Red growled as Keith grinned victoriously. “Got ‘em!” he declared as he proceeded to steer Red out of the asteroid field. “Let’s get out of here, Red!”

Red roared as they zoomed out, and Keith continued to smile until he heard Shiro slump to the floor. He turned around and saw his friend was currently pressing his head against the back of his chair.

“You..okay?” Keith asked as the thrill of the chase left him.

“I’m fine,” Shiro said as he raised a hand, but then lifted his head with a disapproving frown. “But Keith, that was reckless and crazy! We’re lucky we didn’t crash.”

Keith gave a small smirk as he patted his control panel. “We wouldn’t have crashed,” he insisted. “Red and I do this all the time for fun.”

Shiro blinked in disbelief. “You have Galran ships chase you through asteroid fields?”

Keith gave a shaky smile. “Uh..correction, we normally go flying through asteroid fields to practice my reaction time, but we usually don’t have anyone chasing us.”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed, clearly not seeing how fun a game it was. “And whose idea was this ‘game’?”

Keith took a minute to think and then gave a nod. “Red, it was her idea.”

“Figures,” Shiro grumbled darkly as he rubbed his eyes. “Red has a very odd concept of ‘fun’.”

 _That’s because Shiro is a worrywart,_ Red growled and Keith could only roll his eyes in response. 

“Give him a break, Red,” Keith commented and looked to Shiro’s confused expression. “Want me to translate?”

“No, I have a good sense on what she said,” Shiro said flatly with a sigh. “But, if you two are done playing, we better find a planet to hide out.”

Keith checked his scanners and brought up an image of a planet. “This one isn’t too far, and the empire haven’t conquered it yet.”

 _Not to mention it’s warmer than that ice ball we were on,_ Red purred.

“Sounds perfect,” Shiro said as he leaned over Keith’s shoulder. “Let’s go there until the heat dies down.”

Keith nodded as he turned Red to head straight towards the planet.  
08080808080808080808080808080808080808080808080808080

They found the planet with little trouble, and landed on a beach with a clear view of the pink ocean. Red seemed relieved to in the warm sun and not freezing snow, and Keith agreed. The rest of the day was spent quietly as they recovered from their chase and before anyone realized it, the twin suns disappeared from the sky and night fell.

Keith and Shiro both headed to bed early since both of them were drained of energy from the day’s events. It didn’t take long for sleep to take over once Keith had hit the small mattress and crawled under his mound of blankets.

He didn’t know how long he slept, but he awoke to the sound of a whimper. Groggily, Keith lifted his head and instantly awoke. Shiro was tossing and turning on his own mattress with his eyes shut tightly. 

_Nightmare again,_ Keith thought as he flung the blankets off and crawled over.

It wasn’t anything new. Shiro had a lot of nightmares, and he often tried to hide them from Keith, but he wouldn’t let that happen tonight.

Shiro whimpered as he dug his fingers into the mattress. “No...no..”

Keith shook his shoulder. “Shiro, wake up.”

Shiro didn’t respond until Keith shook harder and stepped back as Shiro bolted upward. His eyes were wide and full of fear as he scanned around him.

“W-where am I?” he said and Keith made certain to remain still until Shiro spotted him. “Keith?”

“That’s right,” Keith said softly as he reached for Shiro’s human hand and squeezed it. “It was just a nightmare.”

“Nightmare,” Shiro muttered as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

“Do you know where you are right now?” Keith asked gently. 

Shiro breathed deeply as he shut his eyes. “We’re inside Red.”

“Right,” Keith replied. He felt the temptation to just flat out tell him, but Shiro had explained it grounded him better if he was able to reach the conclusions himself.

“And I’m not on a Galra ship,” Shiro said as he took a deep breath and gave a shaky nod. “Okay, right, I’m better now.”

Keith smiled as he reached over and pulled him into a hug. “Do you want to talk about it?”  
“No,” Shiro said, as he hugged back. “Truth be told I barely remember it now.” 

He lingered in the hug for a moment before letting go and lay back on the mattress. “Although, I doubt I’ll be falling asleep anytime soon,” Shiro said as he stared up at the ceiling.

“Want to just sit and talk for a bit?” Keith asked, although he knew the answer given how their routine went.

Shiro gave a tired smile. “It’s not needed, but I certainly wouldn’t mind the company.”

That was all Keith needed to hear. He pulled his own mattress next to Shiro’s and tucked the pillow underneath his chin.

“I’m thinking of an animal,” Keith began.

“Earth or alien?” Shiro asked as he placed his hands behind his head.

“Earth.”

“Domestic or wild?” Shiro asked.

“Depends on who you ask,” Keith said with a smirk. “But usually domestic.”

Shiro frowned. “Can a human ride it?”

Keith scoffed as he raised a hand. “Not unless you want to lose a hand.”

“Let me rephrase it,” Shiro stated with a laugh. “Is it big enough for a human to ride?”

“No,” Keith said flatly. “Maybe a mouse, but I doubt they want to.”

 _Does it have fur?_ Red offered in his head.

“Yes, it has fur,” Keith replied and pointed to the ceiling. “Red is playing this time.”

“Ah, of course,” Shiro said with a roll of the eye and paused. “Does it purr?”

“Yes,” Keith said with a nod.

 _It’s a cat!_ Red cried.

“It’s a cat,” Shiro stated at the exact same moment.

Keith blinked and sighed. “Yes, to both of you,” he said with a sigh. “I really have to find a way for you to talk to each other.”

Shiro chuckled as he reached over to ruffle Keith’s hair. “Alright, my turn then.”

Keith leaned into the hand as he gave a scoff. “It’s a dog.”

“You don’t know that,” Shiro argued as he took back the hand and brushed hair away from his eyes.

“You ALWAYS pick a dog, or at the very least a wolf,” Keith retorted as he sat up and pointed at him.

“It’s not a crime to love dogs,” Shiro retorted with a shrug.

Keith kept his blank expression.

Shiro gave a slight pout and a snort. “Fine, no canines.”

“That includes alien dogs,” Keith said sharply.

“Oh, sure, take all the fun out of it,” Shiro replied in a mocking tone.

They continued the game until Shiro was able to fall asleep again. Keith gave a soft smile as he pulled the blanket up over his chest and let sleep claim him as well.

0808080808080808080808080808080808080808080

Keith awoke to find Shiro already gone from his bed. He got dress and found Shiro outside staring at the ocean as he sat on the blue sandy beach.

Keith said nothing as he sat next him and let the warm wind blow their hair in the breeze.

“Anymore nightmares?” Keith asked.

Shiro gave a half smile. “No, thankfully,” he said as he reached over and wrapped an arm around Keith’s shoulders. “Thanks for staying up with me.”

Keith blushed slightly as he fiddled with his gloves. “It’s not like you wouldn’t do the same for me.”

They went quiet again, and heard nothing except a few calling of the birds, and the crashing of the waves. A warm breeze hung in the air, probably meant it was going to be a hot day.

“How long do you want to stay here?” Keith asked as he leaned back. 

“A couple of days at least,” Shiro stated as he dug his fingers into the wet sand. “We got enough supplies to hide out until we’re certain those ships have moved on.”

 _I concur,_ Red purred. _Please, it’s warmer here than that ice ball we were on._

Keith gave a smirk as he sat back up. “You want to get breakfast then?”

Shiro turned his head and gave the boy a sly smile. “Sure, after we build some sand castles.”

Keith tilted his head. “Sand castles?”

“Yeah, come on,” Shiro said as he began to pile some sand. “It’ll be fun.”

“Aren’t you suppose to be the adult?” Keith asked as he crossed his legs.

“Being an adult doesn’t mean you stop having fun,” Shiro replied.

Keith looked unimpressed, but found his own hands digging into the sand. He carefully made certain not to look Shiro directly in the eye as he pilled his own sand.

“For the record, I’m only doing it because you’re a goofball,” Keith replied.

Shiro only grinned as he shoved his mound of sand to merge with Keith’s. The two of them build castles for the next hour, and Keith found himself not minding it.


End file.
